E3 2006: Pac-Man World Rally Hands-On

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Pac-Man, Fryga and the Prince team up in this new rally adventure!

By Andrew Alfonso

Is it a requirement that every rally kart game must be populated with famous characters that everyone will recognize? I'm not complaining of course, it's just an observation that I've made. Pac-Man World Rally could've gone with Pac-Man and 25 ghosts that are shaded differently and I don't think it would've mattered, but luckily there are going to be tons of cameo appearances in this title.

Namco-Bandai's new rally kart game takes a lot of inspiration from several different sources. Since the game is based in the Pac-Man universe, there is a tie-in to the old arcade classics. By running over a pellet panel, power pellets will appear on the course, which you have to collect. Get enough of these pellets and you can transform into the invincible Pac-Mobile, which is capable of eating up everyone in your path. When eaten, rival drivers are incapable of controlling their karts for several seconds. Also on the road are fruit panels, which open up shortcuts that are scattered on the track.

Powersliding in the game is similar to that of Mario Kart, especially the ones that appeared on the GameCube and in the arcades (which, ironically enough, was developed by Namco). When you are in a powerslide, you can actually gain more speed by rocking back and forth. This boost comes in two levels, so doing it frequently will reward you with faster speeds out of a turn. There is a new wrinkle to this though; by powersliding you'll build up a Guardian meter, which, when full will protect you from enemy attacks for a short period of time. Speaking of weapons, there are several of them in the game, and by using the Pac-Mobile to gobble up enemies, you can actually unlock secret weapons throughout the game. Unfortunately, there are no character-specific weapons.

The game isn't limited to single player races though. Multiplayer is a large part of the game, and is much different from other games. Battle mode is essentially a free-for-all against human and CPU-controlled racers, where you can pick up weapons and beat each other to death with them. Each racer has a lifebar that is depleted when they are hit, and is increased when you pick up a health pack.

There are a couple of differences between the PS2 and PSP version, even though they're essentially the same game. First off is the character roster. Both versions will have popular entries like Fryga, Prince and Pac-Man, but where the PS2 rev will have 14 characters, the PSP version of the game will have two exclusive characters, bringing the total to 16. Secondly, multiplayer will be limited to 2 players on the PS2, but the PSP and GameCube will allow up to 4 players at one time. Sadly, the PC version is a strictly single player affair.

Scheduled for release later this year, Pac-Man World Rally isn't just some shameless rip-off. It looks like a bonafide attempt at making a quality racer, and at the same time giving fans a bit of a nostalgia trip. Look for more information on this game soon!